Nine-year-old Kayla Burris preparing to meet Elsa

Most kids are looking forward to Christmas Day, but Kayla Burris is excitedly counting down to January 11.

That’s the day she and her family are leaving for Disney World as part of a trip arranged through the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada. The nine-year-old from Brookfield has Cystic Fibrosis — a genetic disease causing excess mucus in the lungs — and her wish was to meet Elsa, the sparkling Snow Queen from Disney’s Frozen.

The Nova Scotia Chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada presented Kayla with her wish on December 11 at the MacQuarries Pharmasave in Brookfield. Children’s Wish Coordinator Jacob Rafuse says his team met Kayla several years ago when she was referred by her grandmother, Katherine Toole.

“We got Kayla approved for the wish and started working on the process, and today’s the big day we get to give her the airline tickets,” says Rafuse.

After cutting into a Frozen cake with a personal invitation from Elsa herself, Kayla and her seven-year-old sister, Josephine, unwrapped overstuffed bags of Frozen-themed gifts from the team at MacQuarries Pharmasave — including Elsa and Anna dolls, LEGO sets, diaries, water bottles, clothes, and even sunscreen for their sunny destination.

They’ll be staying at a special 70-acre resort called Give Kids The World, which is reserved for children and their families on wish trips. Ice cream is available ’round the clock, and Rafuse told a giggling Kayla that she’s expected to eat it for breakfast at least once.

Kayla’s mom, Nicole Burris, says Kayla’s health was “up and down” before her diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis when she was two years old.

“Once she got the diagnosis and started her medication, it was a complete turnaround for her,” says Nicole.

Kayla lives with her grandparents in Brookfield — while Nicole attends school in Port Hawkesbury — so she’s closer to the IWK in case she needs emergency treatment. She requires at-home therapy for her lungs every morning and night.

Joining Kayla, Nicole and Josephine on the trip are Kayla’s grandparents, aunt, cousin, and Nicole’s boyfriend. Kayla says she loves roller coasters and can’t wait to try out the rides at Disney World. She’ll also get to experience a special one-on-one meeting with Elsa and the two of them will get to spend some time together.

“I can’t wait to see Elsa and eat lunch with the princesses,” says Kayla, who says Belle, Aurora and Ariel are her other favourites.

Rafuse says 96 wishes are currently in the planning stages in Nova Scotia alone through the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, and more than 1,100 wishes have been granted in 2015 for Nova Scotia children.

Over the last three decades, the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada has granted wishes for more than 23,000 Canadian children and their families — that’s about three wishes every single day, year-round.